Beginning of the End
by Amelia Tiadonna
Summary: A young girl in a modern world is suddenly and violently exposed to the possibility that there are more worlds than just hers. Please R/R
1. Chapter 1

It was just like any other day, that mid-summer afternoon on the hill by her house. She smelled the heavy air, thick with pollen and the smell of wild grasses. Dandelion puffs floated gently on the breeze, softly caressing the air with a subtle grace. The warm sun shone gently down from its lofty perch, sweetly kissing her skin as she lay in the tall grass. Clouds danced slowly in the skies, trailing their cyclopean masses diligently and peacefully towards some unknown goal that their ceaseless journey took them on. The trees in the distance swayed calmly with the winds, waving to and fro as the westward winds softly embraced the aged behemoths. It was as if nothing could go wrong on this seemingly perfect day.

But then the skies darkened, thick blackened clouds obscuring the sun from view and casting a cold glare on the world. The winds stopped completely, trees gradually halting their sways and grasses stood still. The very air chilled almost instantly, snapping her out of her near sleep trance with nature. Carefully sitting upright, she turned her gaze all around her. No sounds escaped the nearby city, the usual droning of factories and cars had been silenced somehow. Nothing came from the forest, no creaking of trees nor rustling of leaves, no warbling or chirping of birds, not even the music she'd sworn was just playing from inside her house. The silence of everything was ironically deafening. The skies darkened more, turning an odd shade of purple. A confused frown slowly crept across her face. Just what was going on?

A dimmed flash of green lit up the sky behind her, causing her to turn and face the city once more. To her horror a ball of what appeared to be rock and green flame plummeted from the clouds and landed in the middle of a mass of corporate buildings. Earth, steel and cement exploded upwards from the landing point, which would later be known as Ground Zero to survivors of the area, and rained down silently on the devastated scene. She brought a hand to her chest and drew her hooded sweater closed, shock from the event setting in. What had just happened? Without warning a second flash came from the foreboding skies, producing yet another green fireball that would smash into an unsuspecting house not three blocks from her own. She immediately stood up and rushed to warn her family.

That's when a single cry echoed throughout the air.

Suddenly she could hear the screams. Where there had once been only silence, there was now a cacophony of sounds, ranging from small explosions to blood curdling screams. Covering her ears from the maddening cries of innocent people screaming in pain and fear, she ran inside to her family. They were all standing in the living room at the window, which faced the nearby destruction and carnage. Her mother and father embraced each other half-heartedly, gazing out the window with mouths agape in horror and shock. Her younger brother clung to their mother like any young child, crying and choking out words that the girl failed to understand. She stood at the window and followed her family's gaze, recoiling in pure horror as she encountered what they had witnessed through the glass barrier.

Death and destruction was a simple way to describe the scene before her eyes, but the carnage was just too much for her to completely process. Homes were destroyed and burning, forcing their owners to retreat for safety. People were running in fear from massive stone goliaths that burned with the green flames she'd seen earlier falling from the sky. Horned beasts, some with massive wings and some with oversized swords, converged on the townsfolk from anywhere and everywhere, ripping them to shreds with large claws or cutting them down with larger weapons. There were even large wolf-like beasts with tentacles sprouting from their shoulders trampling and rampaging in the streets, groups of them encircling and devouring helpless people with no mercy or remorse. Hell had surely come to the world, and it brought with it its most foul demons and monsters.

Her cell phone suddenly rang, pulling her from her awed trance-like stare out the window and compelled her to drop to the floor and answer the device.

"Amelia, are you seeing this?" said the male voice on the other end of the call. She knew it to belong to her best friend Mikoto. After a moment of silence from her, Mikoto tried again.

"Amelia, are you there? Tell me you're alive and say something, please!"

Amelia shook her head and cleared her throat as she croaked out, "Yes, Mikoto. I'm here."

Mikoto sighed, and muttered something that sounded like 'thank god'.

"Where are you?" he asked.

"I'm home. What's going on out there? Monsters are killing everyone. What's going on?" she blurted, choking back sobs as she spoke.

"I need you to get to your computer and sign on to instant messenger," Mikoto said, his voice trembling slightly. "I'll be able to explain more then."

Amelia didn't have time to ask why when she heard the line go dead, the phone quietly droning a single note. With a slightly renewed sense of calm, she stood and walked quickly to her room. She located and turned on her laptop and found a place on her bed to sit while the computer finished its startup. Immediately she turned on and signed into her messenger and sent Mikoto a message.

_Amy91:Hey I'm on. Whats going on here?_

_M-89: Amy, I have no idea how to explain this, but I think I know whats happening right now._

Amelia stared at her computer screen for what felt like ages when she finally received a link. Curious, she clicked the internet link and stared in disbelief as her computer took her to a website for an online game. She disbelievingly read the title of the web article: The Burning Legion Comes To Azeroth and the World of Warcraft. Seriously?

Her concentration was broken suddenly as her computer beeped a couple times, signaling a new instant message.

_M-89: Amy, are you still there?_

_Amy91: Are you freaking kidding me? What the hell is this link you sent me?_

_M-89: Did you read it?_

_Amy91: Of course I read it. Why the hell did you send me a link for that stupid game you always play?_

_M-89: That link is an article that relates to exactly what is going on outside this very moment._

Amelia blinked and stared at her computer screen for a few moments, dumbfounded. Was he serious? How the hell could a video game be wreaking havoc like this to the real world? Her computer beeped once more, another message containing a link. This one took her to a Youtube video this time. A few minutes into the video Amelia paled and her eyes widened. Some kids, obsessed with this game, tried to create a portal to the world of Azeroth. At first she thought it was just a stupid cult-based idea, but then the kids in the video did something she would have thought impossible: they actually opened their portal. It was made of stone and adorned on either side with, what the kid seemingly in charge had described as exact duplicates of statues from the video game. The entire point of the video, it seemed, was to make contact with the world these kids had so loved in an attempt to get away from real life.

Inside the stone doorway, encased on both sides with menacing statues and topped with a coiled snake, the space there seemed to undulate. A purple and then green glow emitted from the emptiness that was there before, pulsating with a sickening green and evil looking glow. Small wisps of the energy within escaped from the whirlpool of jade and vanished a few feet from the frame. One of the kids excitedly voiced his victory and strolled confidently through what Amelia now understood was known as a Dark Portal. Silence was everywhere as his companions anxiously awaited his return, whispering to each other and glancing to the camera now and then. Moments later, a deep guttural scream was heard. Everyone gathered at the portal turned suddenly and gazed deep into the swirling abyss.

Another scream gave way to the one who had only minutes before calmly entered the portal unharmed and cloaked, now bloodied and missing an arm. Amelia silenced the scream that stirred in her throat, watching with a new and enhanced horror as a massive and clawed hand groped through the stone doorway, reaching and grabbing at the young boys gathered. Several had been caught and subsequently pulled into the portal, their screams trailing off as they were pulled into the swirling mass. The cameraman dropped the camera and fled, and now all she could see was feet scrambling the other way in an attempt to escape the horror they had unwittingly unleashed.

The lighting dimmed after a few moments, soon replaced by a sickly green glow that seemed to fill the entire room. After another small amount of time, a large figure pulled itself from within the Dark Portal. It was gargantuan, stooping as not to hit the ceiling with its horned head. Massive, purple tinged wings folded and unfolded several times as the creature stepped forward with large, cloven feet. With a sinister grin, it peered around the room until it spotted the camera. In a single sweep, it collected the item from the floor and leered at it inquisitively. In a foreign language that was obviously not of this earth, it muttered something and smiled, revealing sharp, jagged teeth. Dropping the device to the floor, it stooped one more time and passed back through the unholy gate that produced it. Once through, darkness filled the room until the camera stopped recording. Evidently, someone came and retrieved the video, posting it on the internet for the world to see.

Amelia could do nothing but stare at her computer, tears fighting their way to her eyes. For a few more minutes it was all she could do to not throw her computer across the room right then and there and smash the thing to pieces. She felt disgusted and scared and maddened all at the same time. How the hell did those kids manage the impossible? What was that thing that came through the portal? How did more of those things get through? Her questions would have to be answered later, as she had a more pressing matter at hand.

_Amy91: What did I just watch?_

_M-89: A video showing the successful opening of a portal to another world._

_Amy91: What can we do?_

_M-89: Right now? Pray._


	2. Chapter 2

Land-to-air missiles whizzed through the air, colliding with winged demons flying above the ravaged scene, occasionally dropping their bulky, lifeless bodies onto the horde of grotesque creatures below. Many voices were heard crying out for the last time as chunks of flesh and blood erupted from now scorched sidewalks and roads. Air raid sirens were still blaring their deafening tone since the sudden attack started. Countless civilians had died, their bloodied and scorched remains scattered over practically every surface imaginable, all caused by this seemingly unstoppable demon force that had for the most part simply appeared from thin air.

"Corporal Denning," a voice cried out, barely audible over the various sounds currently invading the Corporal's ears. "Corporal, we need you over here now!"

The Corporal heard the voice the second time, turning his eyes away from the carnage and heading back to his platoon. They'd stationed themselves in an abandoned bar, using the back alleyway entrance as their way in or out. Inside the bar, after boarding up the windows and reinforcing the door using nearby tables, around twenty civilians and Denning's platoon holed up, both groups situated on either side of the room. After locking and securing the back door, he headed through the kitchen and into the parlor. One soldier, known to Denning as private Hicks, was rationing out the drinks available on tap and handing the rations out to several gathered civilians. Private Brann was going through their food supply, sorting the food into categories such as perishable/not perishable and the like. Denning felt his heart sink slightly as she turned to face him. Shaking her head, she turned back to finish her chore and moved on to the kitchen. At the rate things were going, they had barely enough food for the nine children to have one meal, let alone feed twenty people, not including the eight members of his team.

"Corporal, we have a serious situation," said the voice from before. It belonged to one of his oldest friends since joining the armed forces, Joanna Garcia. She tossed some papers to him, dropping them a couple feet from her on the pool table they had been using. Denning read through the pages she'd tossed his way, frowning with each page he shuffled through.

"Garcia, what's our status so far against these monsters?" he asked, leaning over the table to better see a map that the soldiers had sprawled out. Many sections of the map had been highlighted and colored in using markers the team had found in the bar's office room.

"Well, sir, that's the problem." She sighed heavily as she uncapped a marker and scribbled in another portion of the map, blotting out the center of the city completely. She capped the marker and jabbed her finger at the spot on the map. "City Hall has just been wiped out, as have the soldiers defending Main Street. Over here," she tapped another part of the map, "We have incoming reports of another outbreak of these beasts in a residential area on the outskirts of town." Garcia hung her head and sighed before looking up at Denning. "Sir, these things are all over the place. There is no escape at this point."

Another soldier standing at the table spoke up. "Sir I've received a report that Washington has decided to stop sending reinforcements and instead focus their troops on the attackers there."

Denning looked him over. The young man, named Healy, was obviously distraught at the news and with good reason too. Healy concentrated his eyes on the floor, a sad and defeated look coming over his face. Denning glanced around the table, noticing the same look of defeat plastering itself across all of the faces present. He strummed his fingers on the edge of the table in thought for a few minutes before jabbing a finger at the map.

"Isn't there a bomb shelter here?" he asked, pointing at a shopping center. "We can try to get the civilians there and in one piece and then see if we can't get a hold of any other troops in the area." He withdrew his finger and patted Healy on the shoulder, smiling gently. "There has to be someone else out there that hasn't been killed yet."

"Sir, those demons are everywhere," Garcia said, motioning to the boarded-up windows. "What do we do if they catch us as soon as we get out the door? That shopping center is over a mile and a half away from our current location. I don't think the civilians could handle a trek like that."

"Garcia, what do we always do when the bad guys get us?" Denning asked, looking her dead in the eye. "We kick their asses and get on with it, don't we?" Garcia nodded slowly, looking away from Denning. The other soldiers at the table shuffled awkwardly, glancing back and forth between the two as Denning put things into perspective for Garcia. "As for the civvies," he said, looking back at them with concern in his eyes. "As for the civvies, we try our damndest to keep them alive from point A to point B."

A young girl, only seventeen, watched from the dimly lit corner as the soldiers talked. She brushed her long hair back over her ear, trying to listen in better, but was instead interrupted by her mother frantically waving her hands in the young girl's face.

"Ivy! Ivy, are you even listening to us?" the woman practically screamed, her eyes bulging slightly. Had her eyelids been open any further her eyes might fall out, Ivy thought. Her mother snapped at her, pulling her back from her thoughts again. "You aren't even listening to us trying to figure out a way to get out of here are you?"

"No, actually, I'm not mom." She replied calmly, looking back towards where Denning and his team stood. Her mother gaped at her with a shocked look on her face. She acted as if Ivy ad threatened to kill them al herself. It was actually rather amusing.

"How dare you ignore your father and me when..." her mother started. Ivy whipped around in her chair and glared at her mother intently.

"He is NOT my father. He is nothing but your boyfriend, for whom you LEFT my father, and he has nothing to say that I really care to listen to!" she screamed, turning her back to her mother and refusing to talk to either adult any further.

"Look here, you little bitch," the boyfriend snarled. "Don't you ever talk about me like that again." He leaned closer over the small table they sat at and glared at the young woman. "Furthermore, if you even think that-" WHAM. He was knocked back by Ivy's fist as she slugged him squarely in the nose. As he fell back in his chair and onto the floor, Ivy leapt over the table and, straddling her mother's boyfriend at the chest, let loose on his face with a barrage of fists. Her mother screamed pathetically as Ivy beat her boyfriend senseless for a few minutes, after which she was pulled off of the sputtering man like a rabid animal and surrounded by Garcia, Brann and another female soldier. Brann had Ivy pinned to the wall, holding the girl's arm behind her back in an effort to keep her from attacking the man again as the boyfriend got up and lashed at Ivy's bodyguards with a bottle he'd just broken.

"Sir, put the bottle down and nobody will get hurt." Said Denning, cautiously stepping closer to the man in an attempt to get the broken bottle from his hand. The boyfriend snapped, slashing Denning across the back of his hand, screaming, "If any of you comes anywhere near me, you'll fucking get it!" He staggered closer to Brann, who stepped in between him and Garcia. She tried, in vain, to get the man to calm down. He simply lunged at her, causing her to jump out of the way.

"I just want that little bitch!" he screamed, pointing the bottle at Ivy. "I just want her."

Garcia whispered something into Ivy's ear, asking the girl if she would stand down if Garcia let her go. Ivy nodded, feeling sweet relief as Garcia released her arm from that painful hold. She rubbed her bicep as Garcia stepped up to the man and glared directly into his eyes, which just so happened to be about a foot above her own. She sternly asked the man to relinquish his weapon and sit back down twice before he lunged again. Garcia, very unhappy at this point, side stepped the man, grabbed his arm and took the bottle from him, then threw him to the ground and shoved her knee into his shoulder blades.

"You gonna calm down now, pal?" she asked, her voice dripping with anger.

The man just nodded, glaring up at Ivy the whole time. Garcia released him and helped him up and back to his table. He threw himself into his chair, obviously disgusted, while Ivy's mother blathered incoherently and fawned over him. The whole scene made Ivy's stomach churn in a mixture of hatred, disgust and longing. Oh, what she would give just to be away from her idiotic mother and her douche bag of a boyfriend. She rolled her eyes at the scene, crossed her arms and sat down against the wall. Garcia watched her with sad eyes. She'd seen this before with her cousins when she was just a little girl. Her aunt only seemed to care about the welfare of her boyfriend, and began to neglect her own children. She sighed and walked over to where the teenage girl sat, taking a place beside her against the wall.

"Care to explain what just happened?" She patted Ivy's knee softly. Ivy glanced over at Garcia's hand, then up into the eyes of the soldier who'd just recently had her pinned against the wall. There was kindness and understanding in her eyes, instead of the usual scorn and uninterested brush off she usually got. Tears welled up in Ivy's eyes and she wrapped her arms around Garcia, sniffling against the camouflage jacket the woman wore. Garcia, somewhat shocked at such a sudden reaction, hugged the girl back. Pretty soon Ivy was sobbing quietly into her arms, causing the tears to begin to start for her as well. Sniffling, she made Ivy sit up a bit more and asked her again, "Well? What happened?"

"Ever since she left my dad she's been from man to man, always thinking that 'this one is the one,'" she said, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. "She's never once asked me about any of them, or even bothered to ask how I felt about her dating again."

Garcia nodded, understanding the pain she felt. It wasn't the same story as her cousins', but there were many similarities. "Sweetie, every family is going to have its issues." She took Ivy's face in her hands and looked her deeply in the eyes. "You just have to figure out how to adapt to them and find a peaceful solution. I'm not going to tell you how to live or what you should do, that's not my place. I will tell you, however, that you need to make amends. Especially now of all times, when the unthinkable could happen at any moment." Garcia smiled at the teen and pulled her back into a tight hug.

Tears streamed down Ivy's face as Garcia spoke, and she squeezed the woman back tightly as she was embraced. Never had anyone, let alone an adult, given her the chance to talk without telling her that she should just "put up with it" or "she's your mother, don't question her choices." Even then, this woman had seemed to share her pain on some level. How or why, she'd never find out but it was still comforting to know that there was someone out there that understood.

Ivy shakily stood up from the wall and took her place once more at the table by her mother. She gave her a long, tight hug and whispered something into her ear. Garcia smiled, a small accomplishment awarded in such dire times. It definitely helped her mood. She turned back to the other soldiers, striding over to the table with a sense of accomplishment. A sense of accomplishment that was soon dashed from her heart as soon as she'd looked up at the windows. A large, glaring green eye peered in through a hole in the barricade, sending a wash of new fears and dread over her entire body. A deafening cracking shattered the silence in the bar, replacing it with screams and clattering as tables were overturned in escape attempts. Moments later, a large, horned and bearded face peeked through the splintered wood, its face twisting into a jagged, leering smile.

Its voice seeped into her very soul, leaving behind a dark stain dripping with malice and bloodlust. At first the creature hissed and growled in some unknown form of speech, slowly forming intelligible words in English.

"So, we found a little nest of rats to be exterminated," the beast snarled, kicking more of the wood aside to form a larger hole through which it could enter. It stood at least nine feet tall, fur covering most of its body, one exception being the beast's chest. A long tail swished to and fro behind the creature as it strode into the room on cloven feet. Its green eyes, pupiless and glowing, leered around the room. With a wave of its hand it sent the soldiers by the window clear across the room, tumbling into furniture and crashing into the bar. Brann vaulted herself over the bar, landing atop the pool table and collecting one of the semi automatic rifles at her feet and unloaded an entire clip into the monster. The bullets fell to the floor with a soft tinkling sound as the harmlessly bounced off the creature's skin. With a smile, the demon stabbed two fingers into Brann's chest and muttered something under its breath. Seconds later she lit up with a green flame, flesh burning away from her bones almost instantly. The demon withdrew its hand, letting the burnt skeleton crumble to the floor. With a sneer the demon spoke.

"Did you really think that your pathetic weapons could harm a Satyr?" it bellowed, chuckling at the futility of Brann's attack. It pointed to the burnt and crumbling pile. "She had it lucky. She won't have to face the wrath of the Legion, and believe me what I just did was merciful." In two strides the satyr crossed the bar and stood less than a couple yards from the civilians huddled in the opposite corner. It crouched down and grabbed Ivy's leg, pulling her closer until she was almost directly under the thing. It smiled at her menacingly, licking its teeth with a long, pointed tongue and sniffed her. "Yes, you will all do nicely. The leader could use a tasty snack after all he's done, and you smell particularly delicious." The satyr leaned forward and licked Ivy's face, leaving a trail of saliva that quickly started to singe the teen's skin. She screamed in pain, adding amusement to the mixture of feelings in the room.

Ivy trembled underneath the satyr's grasp, gingerly touching her cheek. It still burned where the demon had licked her, making her wince as the beast's breath clawed at her. She wished she could just escape this, go back home and pretend none of this was happening. If only she could just sit in her garden and read once more, not having to worry about demons or the end of the world. As her consciousness slowly faded away from the pain of her burn the floor trembled slightly, steadily growing into a large tremor that caused the floor to crack under the satyr's feet. Massive, thorned vines erupted from the concrete flooring, entangling the satyr and roughly forcing its bulk through the ceiling and into whatever room lay above. The vines quickly grew thicker and slowly took the shape of a large tree. After the dust had settled the trunk opened and a tall creature passed through. She stood at least two feet above anyone gathered. Pointed ears swept backwards from either side of her head, framing her long, bushy hair and her soft, slender face. Her eyes shone with a soft and silvery light as she quickly scanned the room for more enemies. Her toned, purple frame twisted with ease as she crouched over Ivy, brushing rubble and dust from the girl's face.

The tall female pulled a vial of some clear, glowing liquid from a pouch on her hip, uncorked it and gently poured some of its contents onto the burn on Ivy's face. The pain faded away almost instantly as the liquid dissolved the toxins in the demon's saliva, returning most of the skin to its former appearance. She smiled warmly and helped Ivy sit up, returning the vial to her hip pouch and standing up to her full height. She motioned over to the hole in the tree she'd emerged from and waved at the crowd to follow. When none would follow, she stood Ivy up and gently shoved her towards the tree. With a melodic voice, at least compared to the satyr that had until just recently been looming over them with murderous intent, she addressed the assembled group.

"I know a quick way out of here. It's safe and leads away from the bulk of the demon army." She helped Ivy down into a hole that set just beneath the tree's opening. Turning back, she noticed the rest of the people timidly making their way around her and into the hole, escaping the bar and making their way towards what they hoped to be sanctuary from the onslaught outside. The tall elf smiled as she helped the scared people into the hole and once she was sure everyone was safely out of the bar she hopped into the hole herself, sealing the entrance with a wave of her hand. Producing a small torch from her backpack, she revealed a tunnel that led off into the distance, dark and foreboding.

"Well? Do you want to make it out of here?" she asked the group, content with the scattered nods she received. "Then follow me and let's get out of here." With that, she started walking down the tunnel, followed by the scurrying and desperate crowd.


End file.
